Obituary: Carolyn ClemmonsCarolyn Warren Clemmons, 86, died Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016. She was born in Charleston, SC., on March 25, 1930. She was a registered nurse in the maternity ward and was the wife of a United Methodist Pastor, the late Reverend Frank R. Clemmons. She is survived by her three sons, David Clemmons (Cindy), Mark Clemmons (Renee) and John Clemmons (Meredith); six grandchildren: Susannah, Carly, Isaac, Bennett, Isabel and Claire Clemmons. Visitation wil...

Obituary: Donald Ray Best IIIDARDANELLE — Donald Ray Best III “Bubbs”, age 5 months, became an angel, on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016. He was born June 21, 2016, at Little Rock to Tameran Bagby and Donald Ray Best Jr. The family of baby Donald would like to thank each and every one of you for the prayers. We are so grateful for each of you. Although baby Donald was on this earth for a short time, we still thank God for blessing us with the time that he did. Please continue to ke...

Community people: Bill Eaton, Jessica Gunn, Staff Sgt. Thomas RootsTHE COURIER / Submitted Russellville Alderman, former mayor and Lion Bill Eaton (left) introduced Sgt. Jessica Gunn and Staff Sgt. Thomas Roots (right), both with Company "B" of the Arkansas Army National Guard, at a recent meeting. They talked about their roles in recruitment and retention for the Guard. Army National Guard units are in all 50 states, three territories and the District of Columbia. Their primary role is to assist with local a...

Dream Center serves less fortunateLocal Russellville organizations have turned out to provide meals and company to friends and families that might have gone without either this year. Another organization, the Arkansas Dream Center (ADC), continues that spirit of giving. Since its establishment in 2009, the ADC has been working to "reach out to our communities, get families back on track to reaching their dreams," said Executive Director and Founder Drew Davis. "We work with ot...

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BY SIERRA MURPHY
murphy@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Russellville stores open Black FridayBY SIERRA MURPHY murphy@couriernews.com Nation wide chains are set to open as early as 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving night, but Russellville business owners will forgo early operation and maintain usual business hours on Black Friday. Coupled with sales and even weekend hours, citizens can enjoy their Thanksgiving meal as well as Black Friday sales. Kitchen Essentials in the City Mall, for example, will have sales on individual knives and knife sets....

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BY SIERRA MURPHY
murphy@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Court blocks federal plan to expand overtime payLAS VEGAS -- In a blow to the Obama administration's labor-law plans, a federal court has blocked the start of a rule that would have made an estimated 4 million more American workers eligible for overtime pay heading into the holiday season. As a result of Tuesday's ruling, overtime changes set to take effect Dec. 1 are now unlikely to be in play before vast power shifts to a Donald Trump administration, which has spoken out against Obama-bac...

Thanksgiving travel expected to be at its heaviest since 2007CHICAGO -- Americans took to the roads, air and railways Wednesday for what is expected to be the busiest Thanksgiving travel period in almost a decade. Almost 49 million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more between Wednesday and Sunday, the most since 2007, because of lower gas prices and an improving economy, according to AAA. It will be the first time many have gathered with family and friends since the rancorous election between ...

Pumpkin leads way in holiday pie reportOAK BROOK, Ill. -- Let's cut to the chase, pumpkin pie once again reigns supreme as American's favorite Thanksgiving dessert, beating out other traditional pies by a long shot. According to a Delta Dental survey, favorability of pumpkin pie hovers around thirty-six percent with American adults, more than double that of American's next favorite Thanksgiving pie, pecan (15 percent). Scraping the bottom of the barrel in the 2nd Annual Pie Ranking...

ATCC students help Main Street MissionRoughly 50 students from the Arkansas Tech Career Center (ATCC) in Russellville spent hours last Friday at the Main Street Mission helping them prepare for the Thanksgiving rush this week. "The students decided this year they wanted to help the Main Street Mission," Bennie Byrd, instructor at the ATCC, said. "They recognize that the Main Street Mission does a tremendous amount for our community and they wanted to volunteer their efforts to hel...

Tri-Peaks reviews several brochure coversRoss and Jay Cranford with Cranford Company recently met with Arkansas River Valley Tri-Peaks Tourism Association board members to discuss the cover options for their new brochures. Tri-Peaks is a division of tourism of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and covers six counties — Perry, Conway, Yell, Pope, Johnson and Logan. Jay explained he has six options for the cover of the brochures. The options include pictures taken by his bro...

Christmas Wish ProvidersTo adopt a Christmas Wish family call the Main Street Mission 479-968-8303 from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Main Street Mission will provide the families lists to you.

Arkansas governor: Move energy office, reduce boardsLITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is proposing moving the state's energy office to the Department of Environmental Quality and reducing the number of committees that inspect local jails. Hutchinson told reporters Monday the changes will be part of a restructuring plan he'll submit to the Legislature during next year's session. He said moving the energy office, currently housed at the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, will help...

Arkansas lawmaker switches to Republican PartyLITTLE ROCK — An Arkansas state representative switched to the Republican Party on Tuesday, marking the second Democratic lawmaker to defect since the election in a move that will give House Republicans enough votes to pass most spending measures without any help from their rival party. Rep. David Hillman of Almyra said he had been considering the move before the Nov. 8 election, when Republicans expanded their majority in both chambers of the...

Enforcement of Arkansas anti-begging law prohibited by judgeLITTLE ROCK — A federal judge is prohibiting Arkansas from enforcing its anti-begging law. U.S. District Judge Billy Joe Wilson on Tuesday agreed with the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas that the law unconstitutionally restricts freedom of speech. Wilson wrote that regulating speech based on content must promote a compelling government interest and said banning all begging everywhere by everyone "does not come close to chinning this...

RPD releases stats reportThe Russellville Police Department (RPD) will answer more calls for service this year, made more felony arrests, DUI arrests and trained more hours, according to statistics released recently. Calls for service from Pope County 911 Emergency Communications will surpass 21,600 through the end of the year, according to projections. Officers answered 20,679 calls in 2015. Felony arrests are up 25.8 percent this year, from 329 in 2015 to 414 in 201...

Community people: Tyson SimonTHE COURIER / Submitted Tyson Simon gave a presentation recently to the Russellville Kiwanis Club about the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the importance of the program in Western Arkansas student sports programs.